Bankruptcy Judges Bob Jacobvitz (D.N.M.) and Rodney May (M.D. Fla.) are the two NCBJ Conference News photographers. If you have attended an NCBJ conference, you may have seen us taking pictures. Below are photos we took while in San Francisco to attend the Annual Conference or in Sonoma and Napa Valleys after the Conference.

Click on a photo to enlarge it, then backspace to return to this post.

Photos by Robert H. Jacobvitz

This is the downstairs of the Mercantile Building in San Francisco where a bankruptcy judges dinner was held Thursday night during the Conference. This is quite a place.

After the SF Annual Conference, my wife and I headed north to spend a couple days in wine country. Our first stop was the Patz & Hall Winery in the City of Sonoma in Sonoma Valley.

We then headed south to the Ridge Lytton Springs Winery near Healdsburg. This is one of Ridge’s beautiful vineyards.

Our final winery visit of the day was at the Matanzas Creek Winery near Santa Rosa to taste some excellent Merlot. The next three photos depict the winery’s wonderful lavender garden. The lavender had already been harvested leaving behind these sculpted plants.

This interesting shed is to the left of the Matanzas Creek lavender garden.

The next day we visited three wineries near Calistoga at the north end of Napa Valley: Chateau Montelena, Frank’s Family Vineyard and Clos Pagase

I took the next five photos at Chateau Montelena, one of the world’s great wineries. This is the north side of the winery.

A close up of wine barrels shown in the preceding picture.

This tasting room is just inside Chateau Montelena’s visitor’s center.

A bridge next to the Chateau Montelena Chinese water garden built by a prior owner.

A Pagoda at the Chateau Montelena Chinese water garden.

Frank’s Family Winery is not quite as picturesque as some of the other wineries we visited, but the people are very friendly and the wine is excellent.

Finally, we visited the Clos Pagase Winery. It is quite a place to see. The first photo shows a vineyard just outside the winery.

This is a hallway we traveled to get to a Clos Pagase tasting room.

And this is quite some tasting room.

Photos by Rodney May

Click here to read A Dream Weekend in Wine Country, by Bankruptcy Judge Hannah Blumenstiel, N.D. Cal., published in the 2106 Fall Issue of the NCBJ Conference News. Do you want to stay in a “meticulously restored craftsman” Inn in Napa, to lunch in a “classic French bistro” that is “insanely popular” or at a place where “the food is so good I dream about it,”and then taste wine in an original Craftsman bungalow? Then this article is for you. The article contains recommendations for hotels, restaurants, wineries and other fun things to do in Napa and Sonoma wine country from a judge willing to share her special insight into the area.

The NCBJ celebrates its 90th year in 2016, having been formed in 1926 as the National Association of Referees in Bankruptcy. This link will take you to part 1 of a 2-part article written in celebration of NCBJ’s 90th anniversary. Part 1 was published in the 2016 Fall Issue of the NCBJ Conference News. Part I covers: (i) The NCBJ’s Formation; (ii) The World War II Years; (iii) the Referees’ Salary Act of 1946, (iv) NARB Changes its Name; and (v) The American Bankruptcy Law Journal and NCBJ Conference News.

Click here to read an interesting and informative article entitled A “Native’s” Guide to the City by the Bay written by Bankruptcy Judges Stephen Johnson and Hannah Blumenstiel, both sitting in the Northern District of California. The article was published in the Fall 2016 Issue of the NCBJ Conference News.

The article covers San Francisco’s weather, sites to see walking around town, traditional tourist destinations, great restaurants to consider, organized tours opportunities, museums, music and theater, and fun things to do with children.

Click this link to read an interesting article written by Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Johnson, N.D. Cal., published in the Fall 2016 Issue of the NCBJ Conference News, entitled San Francisco: The Historical Angle.

NCBJ Blog Quiz: How Well Do You Know Your Bankruptcy History and Bankruptcy Community?

by Professor Karen M. Gebbia

Golden Gate University School of Law

To take Blog Quiz #1, click here (bankruptcy organization acronyms plus bonus question).

To take Blog Quiz #2, click here (identify which one does not belong, from a bankruptcy perspective, and why?).

Blog Quiz #2 answers:

1. King does not belong. The Shea, McAdoo, Donovan, and Thacher commissions, committees and reports heavily influenced bankruptcy legislation in the 1930s and 1940s. For bankruptcy Kings, see the answers to Quiz #1.

2. Brookings does not belong. The Lowell Bill and Torrey Bill were precursors to the Bankruptcy Act of 1898. The Lowell Bill was not successful; the Torrey Bill formed the basis for the Bankruptcy Act. The Brookings Institution Report of 1971 influenced the Bankruptcy Code of 1978.

3. 1823 does not belong. Federal bankruptcy laws were enacted in 1800, 1841, 1867 and 1898, but not in 1823.

4. 1938 does not belong. The Commission on the Bankruptcy Laws of the United States issued its report in 1973. The National Bankruptcy Review Commission issued its report in 1997. There was no bankruptcy commission report in 1938. 1938 is significant as the year the Chandler Act amendments to the Bankruptcy Act of 1898 were enacted.

5. The Great Recession of 2007-2009 does not belong. The other financial crisis led more or less directly to major federal bankruptcy legislation. The Great Recession did not; although it did spur other federal legislation, most notably the Dodd-Frank Act.

NCBJ Blog Quiz: How Well Do You Know Your Bankruptcy History and Bankruptcy Community?

by Professor Karen M. Gebbia

Golden Gate University School of Law

In a series of short quizzes, Professor Gebbia invites readers to test their knowledge of bankruptcy history and the role the bankruptcy community has played in shaping bankruptcy law. To learn more, attend the American Bankruptcy Law Journal / American Bar Association Symposium at the NCBJ Meeting: The NCBJ at Ninety: Evolution and Revolution, on October 27, 2016, in San Francisco.

Quiz #2:
One of these things is not like the others; no, one of these things just does not belong!
Can you identify which one does not belong, from a bankruptcy perspective, and why?

1.
Shea, McAdoo, Donovan, Thacher, King

2.
Lowell, Torrey, Brookings

3.
1800, 1823, 1841, 1867, 1898

4.
1938, 1973, 1997

5.
Panic of 1796-1799, Panic of 1837, Long Depression of 1873 – 1896, Great Depression of 1929-1933, Great Recession of 2007-2009 

For the answers to Blog Quiz #2, click here.

To take Blog Quiz #1, click here.

To take Blog Quiz #2, click here.

Check back from time to time for more quizzes.